A sketch of the viewing platform
adding to the Eiffel Towers to celebrate the Eiffel Towers 120th
Anniversary.(Photo source: yangtse.com)Photo Gallery>>>

BEIJING, March
24 (Xinhuanet) -- Eiffel Tower will have a new look in time for its 120th
anniversary in 2009, according to media reports Monday.

Serero Architects of Paris was authorized to redesign
Eiffel's public viewing platform and reception areas. It won it from an open
competition.

According to the new plan, the top floor plate of the
tower will be extended by grafting a high performance carbon Kevlar structure on
it. The structure will be temporarily bolted to the slab without requiring any
modification of the existing structure.

The design is based on a generative script, creating
branches out of the primary structure of the tower. Inspired by the structural
concept of Eiffel of three-dimensional cross bracing beams, the script unfolds
along curved lines the "DNA" of the tower.

A spokesperson for Serero explained that the plan to
restructure the top of the tower aims to increase the quality of access. Average
waiting times for the tower's elevators currently run at more than an hour at
peak times.

The design is already causing controversy, with
critics questioning the wisdom of tinkering with the famous silhouette and
spending money on upgrading a tourist attraction which attracts 6.9 million
visitors a year.